A Gift For The Broken
by Felicity The Pirate
Summary: William had never truly regretted any of his actions until he killed Charlie. William feels guilt and wishes he could undo what he'd done. There was no way to bring Charlie back, though. She had been dead for a week in his basement. Maybe he could still give her back to Henry, though. He had been making robots for a long time...
1. Cookies And Screams

_What in the hell had he done?_

William was by no means a good man. He wasn't above murdering innocent children for no reason other than his own entertainment. Lying to Henry came easy, and so did butchering his supposed 'best friend's' daughter. Charlie was a quick kill; she had struggled and fought with every ounce of energy she had in her weak, tired little body. William had obviously overpowered the child, though. He was always able to overpower his victims. Children were weak and easy to trick; what better target could he seek out?

William had felt many things after committing his first few murders. There was a brief period of panic, then regret, then acceptance and finally pride. Taking lives was thrilling to the man, so he continued to take them. He had never been caught, and he felt invincible.

There was no reason to stop when there were no consequences.

Unfortunately for him, his newest victim had brought nothing but regret and pain to his life.

Henry was his best friend and had trusted William with his own life; so that's why when William took Charlie away from him, the feeling of regret he hadn't experienced in years came flooding back. It slowly began to creep in when Charlie stopped writhing on the floor, gasping and sobbing as blood pooled out from her throat that had been savagely sawed open.

As the life drained from her eyes and her little body stilled, William stopped smiling.

He stared at the child for several moments, watching as Charlie's warmth faded away and was replaced with the cold that death brought. He watched in silence for several minutes, then turned away from the girl. He could clean her up later. It wasn't like anyone was coming to search his basement….

Henry's first panicked phone call came around six in the evening that same night. It had only taken the man a little over an hour to realize that Charlie was missing from the backyard.

Henry was clearly distraught; rambling about Charlie having possibly wandered into the woods or down the road. Just like William, Henry lived in the country, away from most of Hurricane's prying eyes. There were no witnesses that saw 'Uncle William' pick Charlie up with the promise of ice cream and a sleepover with Elizabeth.

"Will you help me look for her?" Henry had sobbed over the phone; it was a shaky plea that made William feel… something. It was regret; William knew that.

"Yeah, yeah… Of course. I'll be over in five minutes." William had promised in a soft, hushed voice. When William hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket off of his coat rack, he had to swallow down the urge to vomit. What in the hell had he done?

William pulled into Henry's driveway five minutes later just as promised. The air was beginning to grow chilly as the sun slipped away for the night. The fact that Charlie was still missing, possibly in the woods at dusk was sending Henry into a panic attack. When the bigger man got into William's car, it became apparent just how bad he was freaking out.

There was sweat pooling down Henry's forehead and his flannel had been tied around his waist; he had clearly gotten too hot for it. He was continuously wiping his sweaty palms on his pants in a futile attempt to dry them. William looked at Henry in bewilderment, much like a deer in the headlights. He had no idea what to even begin to say to Henry. Tears were welling in the corner of Henry's eyes, and it was clear that he had been crying previously.

"...Henry…" William whispered out under his breath. Much to his own surprise, his voice was trembly and came out almost like a whine. Henry lunged forward without hesitation, pulling William into a tight hug. William tensed at first; completely thrown off by the sudden contact. It didn't take long for him to relax, though. He put a hand on Henry's back and rubbed up and down, attempting to soothe the much bigger man.

"We'll find her, Henry." He assured him in a small whisper. He had lied to Henry many times before without much of a second thought, but this time it felt horrible. Henry nodded but made no move to pull away from William just yet. William let Henry cling to him for a while before they set off down the road, driving slowly and keeping an eye out for the missing brunette.

Clay had been notified of Charlie's disappearance that same night and a search party was sent out. They combed the woods around Henry's property but could find no signs of the girl.

Mrs. Emily was mortified when she returned home with Sammy to find her husband sobbing into William's shoulder on their couch. William's eyes had drifted up to meet with hers; there was a certain sadness to them that made the woman fearful to find out why her husband was crying.

A fight had broken out as soon as she had found out that Charlie was missing. She had screamed at the top of her lungs at Henry; scolding him for not keeping a better eye on Charlie while she played outside. She blamed everything from the animatronics he'd been working on to him not truly loving his daughter. William had taken Sammy's little hand and guided the boy out of the living room and into the kitchen. The seven-year-old looked fearful as he clung to the man's side. His big eyes were downcast as thoughts of Charlie no doubt filled his mind.

The sound of screaming was muffled as William shut the heavy wooden door of the kitchen and paced over to the dining table. William sat Sammy down in a chair and turned to rummage through the cabinets. "Where do your parents keep the cookies, kiddo?" William had asked with a softness that was typically reserved for his own children. Sammy sniffled and wiped his eyes, refusing to look up at William as he instead stared at his red and white shoes.

One of the laces were undone, but it wasn't one of his more pressing concerns right then.

"Where's Sissy?" Sammy asked in a small sob. William stared down at Sammy as another pang of guilt washed over him. A lump formed in the man's throat, making him want to leave the room and Henry's house altogether. How dare he kill Henry's daughter and come into his home like he still belonged? He had never belonged; he had just never given Henry a reason to hate him.

William bent down in front of Sammy and gently tipped the kid's chin up with the tip of his finger.

"Wherever she is, I'm sure she's safe. She'll be home soon, Sammy… Okay?" Another lie.

A few tears slipped down Sammy's face and a soft sob was barely heard above the muffled screaming from the other room. William wanted to go in there and shut that bitch up; It wasn't Henry's fault that Charlie had been taken. Hurricane was a small town that had been seen as safe; why would Henry need to keep a closer eye on his daughter on this particular day?

William had never taken a child from Hurricane, so there was never any reason for the town to watch their children like hawks. William hadn't used the restaurants as a trap for his victims yet, so Hurricane had known no real tragedy. Kids were let outside to play in their yards unsupervised all the time without incident. While William could understand how he'd feel if one of his own children turned up missing, he'd never turn on his wife like Henry's wife had so easily turned on him. Sammy's soft sobs grabbed William's attention. "_Sammy,_" William whispered out.

Sammy looked up at William with teary eyes. William cupped the side of Sammy's cheek, attempting to comfort him in the same way he comforted his own son.

"She's coming back soon… okay?" The words, despite being empty lies, were enough to calm the crying boy. Sammy gave William an understanding nod. William gave the kid the best smile he could muster before standing back up and making his way over to the cabinets. After rummaging around for a few minutes, he found what he was looking for. A box of cookies was quickly pulled out and handed to Sammy. William wasn't the best with emotions, but cookies had usually helped comfort his own children. "Eat as many as you want."

Sammy didn't have to be told twice. William pulled out a chair and sat next to Sammy while Henry and Mrs. Emily fought in the other room. The only voice William could hear was Mrs. Emily's. Henry was no doubt sobbing to her; quietly trying to defend himself as his wife took out her anger on him. Eventually, all went quiet, there was some shuffling and then Sammy's mother opened the kitchen door. She was clearly still fuming if the look in her eyes were anything to go by. William wondered how she could resort to anger instead of worry and grief first. Did she not realize how serious Charlie's absence could be? The child could be dead or dying in the woods and instead of worrying about her daughter, she was screaming at her already-broken husband. Sammy shrunk in on himself when her eyes fell upon him.

The boy hesitantly took his little hand out of the box of cookies and sat the box up on the table.

William raised a brow curiously at the odd change in the kid's behavior.

"What are you doing, Samual?" The woman asked in a stern tone. It sounded as if it was taking everything in her to not scream at her son as well.

"U-Uncle William said I could.. have some-" Sammy fell silent; he was trembling now and his eyes began to water again. William's eyes were wide in surprise as he glanced between the mother and son. Why was Sammy acting so upset again?

"Did _I_ say you could have them, Samual?" She questioned in a low voice. Before Sammy could begin crying, William stood and brushed his jacket off.

"I gave them to him. If I wasn't supposed to I'm so-" Before William could finish, the woman cut him off. "You need to go home, William."

William blinked in surprise. He glanced between her and Sammy, then nodded.

"I'll see you later, kid." William sighed as he ruffled Sammy's hair.

When William passed by Mrs. Emily, he could feel her glaring daggers at him.

He didn't see Henry on his way out, but he wasn't going to overstay his welcome anymore than he already had. William found himself silently hoping that the big guy was alright before walking out the front door, leaving behind poor, scared little Sammy.


	2. Sleeping In The Freezer

A week came and went with no news about Charlie's whereabouts.

Henry was beyond panicked, now. His wife was no better, though she was taking her emotions out on her husband instead of slipping into a depression as Henry had.

William had been receiving phone calls from Henry a few times a day ever since Charlie's disappearance. Nearly every time, Henry would barely manage to resist breaking down and crying over the phone. William had assured Henry that if he saw or heard anything about Charlie, he'd call him right back. Of course, William _had_ seen Charlie since he had been over to Henry's house. The poor little girl had been a cold, stiff greeting to William when he had returned home that night. He had cleaned the blood from the concrete floor and tucked Charlie's corpse away in his freezer. He wasn't entirely sure what he planned on doing with it just yet. Burying it was always an option, but it could always be dug up and used against him later. For the time being, she was simply _sleeping _in his freezer downstairs. She was a very patient corpse.

William wasn't feeling very well at all. He had been very jumpy and fidgety ever since the night he'd taken Charlie's life. That child was his own daughter's best friend and Henry's kin.

He'd ripped away one of the most important parts of Henry's life for a quick thrill and was thoroughly regretting it. Thankfully for him, his darling wife had taken the children out of Hurricane for a couple of weeks to visit her parents. William had insisted that he stay behind to tend to business at Fredbear's, so his wife hadn't pushed too hard on making him tag along for the long road trip. William had kissed his children goodbye and sent his wife on her way.

She had taken her own vehicle; William wouldn't be caught dead letting anyone touch his own car. He didn't even let Henry take it for joyrides. Then again, how much did he really care about Henry? If he was so willing to take Charlie's life, did he truly feel anything for the man who he claimed was his closest friend? William didn't have many '_friends'_. He had a family, a few acquaintances, and Henry. And how did he repay his only friend for showing him nothing but unrelenting kindness, trust, and care? He murdered his only daughter in cold blood.

Charlie and Sammy referred to him as their uncle, for god's sake.

There was no possible way to bring Charlie back, though…

There was nothing that William could do for Henry, now. He'd simply have to wait until the search for Charlie blew over, then try to comfort Henry as best he could. William was standing in the kitchen, clutching onto a cup of scalding coffee. He'd been standing in silence, attempting to find some sort of solution to the problem that he had created. He could always do nothing and let Henry and Sammy suffer, but something told him that he wouldn't be able to sleep very well at night while Henry was suffering. As per usual for the past week, the phone rang.

Henry had most likely just woken up, and like all the other days this week, one of the first things he did was call William. With a heavy intake of breath and a shaky sigh, William began making his way over to the phone on the wall. He took it into his free hand and pressed it up against his ear. He didn't even need to confirm who it was, he greeted the person on the other end of the phone with a soft, "Good morning, Henry." William took a small sip of his cooling coffee as he waited for Henry to speak. There was a long period of silence, so long in fact that it had William wondering if it wasn't Henry he had been called by.

"Henry?" He questioned. The sound of a shaky sigh came through the phone, confirming Henry's identity. William suddenly lost interest in his coffee. He paced over to the kitchen counter and sat his cup down. He was barely able to reach the counter; the phone's cord was stretched to its limit. He really needed to get a longer cord… William waited for an answer for a few moments. When nothing was said, he swallowed down the urge to vomit as he gathered his voice to speak. "Henry… are you alright?"

"_Can I be honest with you, Will?_" Came Henry's low, sad voice. William wasn't fond of the tone that Henry was using. Even without seeing him, William could hear the sadness dripping from his voice and picture that horribly upset look that Henry had been wearing. Henry's sadness was brought on by him, though. William closed his eyes with a wince.

"Of course you can." Came his honest reply. Henry had never been anything _but _honest with William while Henry himself had been fed lies.

"I… I'm so tired, William. I can't keep going on like this."

"Henry-" William attempted to butt in; if Henry was even thinking of…

"We're not going to find her, Will. She's gone and it's my fault."

William wanted to let Henry know that it wasn't his fault in the slightest, but that wouldn't have even been true. Henry had trusted William; that was his first mistake of many.

Henry had let Charlie outside to play unsupervised just like every other day, only that day, William had finally struck. William's grip on the phone tightened.

"Henry. We're going to find her. It's only been a week. She could be lost in the woods, or-"

Henry once again cut the other man off with a small sniffle. William clutched the phone tight in his hand. "We'll find her." William finished with a steady voice.

Henry let out a broken, shaky sob. "_I know we will…_" He sobbed.

* * *

William had paced the house all night, wracking his brain for some way to help Henry. Finding Charlie's body could bring him some closure, sure, but her death being confirmed would break him even further. William was a sick, twisted individual; he always took and stole things without much of a second thought. He stole Henry's daughter away just like he had stolen countless other lives. The fact that his very being ached and that he had even felt guilt was freaking him out. He'd been so emotionally numb for so long that even the slightest semblance of raw emotion scared the hell out of him. Sure, he loved his children to death, but feeling _genuine _guilt about taking someone's life wasn't commonplace for him. Of all the children he could have taken, of course, he had to go and fuck things up by taking Charlie. Henry would never recover and as much as William wanted to focus on anything other than work, Fredbear's required attention.

They had closed until further notice due to Henry's current state but all of Hurricane understood, thankfully. William rubbed his temples as he let out a shaky sigh. He didn't want to think about those robots right now; he didn't want to think about their lifeless, dull eyes. The newer models wouldn't look so dead, though. The newer bots would be much more realistic; the new bots that he had been working on for quite a long time. They would be able to walk around freely and would have AI that could learn, remember and be programmed with… memories…

William froze in place. An idea came to him; it was outlandish and insane, but it just may work.

He had many of the pieces he needed already; all of them were part of different projects, but if he pulled them all together, this could just very well work.

* * *

Three days went by in a sleep-deprived, hazy blur. William worked tirelessly, molding pieces and parts together just like he had countless times before. His new technology had proven very useful. The little fingers on the robot curled and extended just as effortlessly as a human's would. The eyes were full of artificial life; they would scan the room and the pupils would dilate under different lights just as a living creature's would. Their form was small; much smaller than William had usually worked with. Skin was given to the creation that felt and looked real… well... Almost. William would have to make do with what he had on hand. Hair was placed on the top of the creation's head; real hair. Poor little freezer Charlie wouldn't be needing it anymore.

William worked tirelessly, pulling this abomination together as quickly but perfectly as he could.

Henry was at his limit, so William didn't have the luxury of time on his side. He could always sneak and update the bot at a later date. Charlie spent the night with 'Uncle William' enough that it would be unnoticeable. Her and Elizabeth were a close pair, so getting her to come over wouldn't be a hard feat. Finally, William gifted the robot a chip. It was something he had been working on for a long, long time. The chip went in the back of her neck inside of a panel that was impossible to activate unintentionally. With a deep intake of breath, William shut the panel as the robot's eyes in front of him flickered to life. Her body twitched and jolted at first, and then two familiar eyes stared at him. They blinked in confusion, then wearily looked around the dimly lit basement. The Android stared down at her hands, clenching and unclenching them as she got a feel of her body. William watched as the chip did its magic. If he hadn't made her, William would have thought it was actually Charlie sitting before him. The little Android was sitting on his work table in front of him, silent as a corpse.

"Charlie?" He asked softly. The robot's eyes flickered with recognition as she realized that this was her name. Many thoughts and ideas had been programmed into her; her name, favorite food, her friends, family members…

"Uncle Will?" She asked with a questioning squint. William felt himself relax. So it was working so far… The chip he had given her was one that perfected illusion. William saw a human girl sitting before him, and as he extended a hand out to her, he felt along her arm. It was real human skin, or it felt like it, at least. She took in gentle breaths as her artificial blood ran through her system. When she tripped and scraped her knees, she would bleed artificial blood. Her illusion would create the visual of her scraped knees, and then it would slowly fade as she 'healed'. William hadn't worked out every issue with her, yet. He had to make sure that she was passable before presenting her to Henry. She could consume food, and her machinery would burn it up into ash, unbeknownst to her or anyone around her. He didn't bother to respond to the robot, though. There was no need to. Her memories of this would be wiped before he was finished with her. William would no doubt have to continually modify her throughout the years, but he was determined to give Charlie back to Henry no matter the cost.

The two sat in that basement for the entire night as William worked out any kink or flaw he could find in her. This was the most advanced robot he had ever created, and he was going to make sure that she wasn't going to break down on Henry. She sounded like Charlie, she acted like Charlie and most importantly, she was an exact lookalike. Nobody would suspect a thing; who would ever suspect that a normal little girl was a highly advanced Android? No one. That's who.

* * *

William took in steady, slow breaths that night. He needed to calm himself. The plan was simple; he would drop Charlie down the road in the dead of night. She would be set on a timer and after three minutes passed, she would awaken. He had given her the most sophisticated AI he possibly could, and she had all of the memories William knew that he should give her. If she couldn't recall something, children forgot, right? Being lost for over a week, or possibly kidnapped and dumped would be traumatizing to a normal human child. Maybe that would explain any missing memories? The trauma could do that sometimes… right?

William swallowed hard as he continued to drive down the road. Raindrops splattered on his windshield as thunder rolled in the distance. A terrible storm was coming in, he knew, and he had to hurry. This not-Charlie was waterproof, but he wanted to get her out of his car as soon as possible. He sped to the farmhouse where he no longer felt welcome. Just being so close made him want to vomit. The lights were still on inside of the house, letting him know that someone was still awake. Good. William pulled up to the driveway, opened his passenger door and shoved the Andriod out of the passenger seat where she had been quietly sitting; powered off and lifeless. She fell into the muddy ditch and William hurriedly pulled his car door shut. He sped off, leaving the Android behind. Tears came to his eyes as he sped off into the rain; despite it all, he still felt a pang of heavy, choking guilt that he was beginning to believe would never leave him.


	3. Her Lifeless Eyes

William arrived home that night, sweating and shaking uncontrollably.

He wanted to throw up and cry, but he knew that an excited phone call from Henry would be coming in soon if he hadn't called already. As soon as the man pushed his front door open, he heard the distant ringing from inside the kitchen. William hurriedly closed the door behind him and rushed into the kitchen. He didn't care about the mud he was tracking everywhere; it would be cleaned later. As William barrelled into the kitchen, the sight of the phone on the wall made him cringe. He knew the voice that would greet him once he answered; Henry would be filled with relief and joy that his only daughter had returned home, safe and sound.

As Will's long, slender fingers wrapped around that phone, he braced himself to put on a sickeningly fake joyful voice and feed Henry even more lies.

"Hello?" The man greeted in a soft, tired voice.

"Will! Oh, William! She's back! She came home! I-"

Henry's words seemed like meaningless noise. William gripped onto the phone much too tight as his body trembled and anxiety washed over him. What in the fuck had he done?

"Oh, come over tomorrow, Will! We need to celebrate somehow-"

William's hand found its way to his mouth as he swallowed down the rising taste of bile in his throat. He wanted to vomit right then and there, but he had a phone call to finish.

"Yeah, Henry. That sounds wonderful." William lied. He managed to put on a convincing voice, so Henry suspected nothing out of the ordinary. Will stood in the kitchen, shaking like a leaf while Henry rambled on with his happy report. The voice of Mrs. Emily echoed in the background, and Henry muttered something in reply to her that William didn't quite catch.

"I need to go, Will, but I'll see you tomorrow for dinner. Will your family be back in town by then?" Tears streamed down William's face as he swallowed down the urge to let out a pathetic, broken whine. The man sucked in a deep breath through his nose before mustering up a response.

"Possibly…" He barely managed to get the words out without giving away the fact that he was crying. His legs felt too weak to stand any longer, and with a sniffle he sunk down to sit on the floor with his back pressed against the wall.

"If they are, bring the kids and the Misses! I'm sure Charlie would love to see Elizabeth, and I think Sammy enjoys playing with Norman-"

William's legs were shaking uncontrollably as chills ran through his entire body.

"Yeah, yeah. If they're back, I'll bring them." William promised, and for once it wasn't a lie.

Mrs. Emily faintly called out in the background again, and the sound of two excited squeals rang out. William knew it was from Sammy and that… thing. It wasn't Charlie, and it never would be.

Henry said his goodbye's and William said his, then the killer was left to wallow in his regret in silence. The quiet of the night was deafening, and the ambient noise of rain pitter pattering on the roof made him feel like he was trapped inside of a little box with no way out.

He had betrayed Henry, but the guilt wasn't solely because of that, anymore.

William realized with a broken sob that he regretted hurting Charlie.

She had trusted him, and he had been like an Uncle to her.

Why in the hell had he chosen her? Why couldn't he have shoved down his dispicable urges for just a while longer and targeted another kid? Why in the _hell_ did it have to be Charlie?

William laid on the floor for a while, just sobbing and clutching at the cold tiles under him.

Somehow, eventually, William found the strength to push himself off of that cold kitchen floor and stumble down the basement steps. His entire body felt weak and his head throbbed.

The lingering taste of vomit still tormented him, but he would wash his mouth out later.

His wife and kids could be coming back in the morning, so he couldn't waste any more time.

Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, William stared ahead with a blank expression at the freezer that had been generously keeping the real Charlie preserved. The air down there was freezing, and even though William was wearing a thick flannel, he still shivered. He could only imagine how cold poor little Charlie would be if she could still feel…

She would never feel anything again, though. The girl would never feel the warm embrace of her father or the playful shoves from her twin. She would never feel anything ever again, but William would forever be plagued with this horrible, suffocating guilt.

William continued to draw closer to the freezer despite the nausea that was creeping back in.

Charlie deserved this; this was the least he could do for his only victim he had ever had an attachment to. As soon as the freezer was pulled open, William was met with Charlie's stiff, frozen body. Her eyes were closed, and her once spotless clothes were now stained with her own blood. William stared at the corpse for a few minutes, unintentionally burning every little detail into his mind. It was definitely an image that would haunt him and appear in his nightmares.

The man's hand trembled as he reached out and touched Charlie's hard, frozen cheek.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." He hissed out through a broken sob. Calling her 'sweetheart' made him want to pull himself away and vomit on the concrete floor. He had no right to call her anything affectionate; he wasn't her Uncle, and he sure as hell hadn't been her friend.

Charlie had trusted him with her life, and he had taken advantage of that.

None of his previous victims had ever meant anything to him, but Charlie had.

Thoughts of taking an easier way out ran through his mind, but he shoved them away.

He had a wife and three beautiful, living children… He had to keep up with making sure that the abomination he'd thrown at Henry's door didn't break.

William still had people to live for, and even though he had no desire to continually waste air himself, he had already proven to be selfish enough. He wasn't going to subject his children to grow up without a father or his wife to come home to a dead lover.

Henry wouldn't be forced to lose his best friend, and Sammy would still have his… Uncle Will.

William wouldn't ever be able to look into that boy's eyes without feeling guilt.

Charlie had been Sammy's best friend, and even if everything worked out in his favor and the boy never realized that something was wrong with his 'sissy', it would never be the same.

_Charlie _was right in front of William. She was lifeless, bloody, and cold… and it was his fault.

William scooped the girl into his arms with a shudder and turned to head back up the stairs as he held the corpse against his chest. The trip up the stairs and outside felt eternal, and even though William knew that the child's eyes were frozen shut, he kept glancing down at her with the expectation, or fear, rather, of seeing her staring up at him with a distant, dead look.

The mere thought of her cloudy, dull eyes made him want to run to his destination and get this all over with, but William held Charlie a little tighter. The man walked through the kitchen and pushed the back door open to make his way into the backyard.

The rain was still falling, and the air was freezing cold. William was already soaked after only taking a few steps into the downpour. Charlie needed to be put to rest tonight, though. He wasn't going to leave her sitting in a freezer any longer.

William gently laid Charlie down on the grass at the edge of the woods that surrounded his secluded country home. She had always loved to explore those woods…

He stared down at her body for a while before turning away with trembling legs.

His boots sunk into the mud as he made his way through his yard to his shed.

The door was pulled open without hesitation, and he retrieved a large shovel out of it.

Gripping the handle was an odd sensation; he had never buried any of his victims.

He had never regretted killing any of his previous victims, either.

Charlie was an exception, and it was a mistake that was making him think more about the previous lives he'd claimed. Would the guilt and regret finally set in for those murders as well?

William shivered from both anxiety and the cold as he plunged the shovel into the earth.

Charlie deserved to be put to rest, even if he was the only one who knew her real fate and final resting place. He slipped in the mud several times which sent him nearly toppling onto Charlie once or twice. The way her body was curled up in that awkward, stiff position made him feel an odd sense of fear. He didn't want to look at her, and so he did his best to keep his eyes on his shovel. Time had lost meaning, and William had no idea how long he had truly been digging. It was finally deep enough, though, and the squirming worms he kept unearthing wiggled and glistened in the rain. The sight of them made him sick as mental images of them burrowing into Charlie's corpse surfaced. He couldn't just throw her in there like that…

William glanced at the corpse by his feet as another horrible wave of fear washed over him.

It wasn't the fear of being caught for his crimes, but staring at the body was making him afraid.

Afraid of what? Even he himself wasn't sure.

William turned and made his way back inside, leaving Charlie's somewhat frozen body to thaw further in the downpour. More mud was tracked through the house as he paced into the hallway to fish a spare blanket out of a closet. The green fabric was soft and thick, and it was going to hug Charlie until it rotted away in the earth. It would keep her warm….

It would be much more comfortable than the freezer….

William stumbled back down the hallway and into the kitchen, then back outside through the back door. He halted as soon as he made it into the grass. Her body was in a different position.

A logical side of his brain insisted that her body had simply thawed and shifted, but a weaker, fearful part of him wanted to turn and run. Horrible images of the corpse sitting up or twitching plagued him, and he was beginning to wonder if these thoughts would continue even after putting her in the ground. Despite his fear, William approached the girl with a tight hold on the blanket. Her eyes were still closed, thankfully, and she was completely still.

The large blanket was laid out across the grass, and then William scooped Charlie back into his arms. He had never had issues with handling corpses before, but even touching Charlie made him shudder and want to shy away. He quickly set her on the blanket and stumbled back.

The man trembled and gazed down at the child at his feet.

He could utter pointless apologies that wouldn't bring her back, or he could put her to rest.

William began wrapping the blanket around her with care, and once she was completely wrapped in the green fabric, he carefully picked her up and lowered her into her grave.

The shovel found its way back into his hands, and as William began burying the girl he once called a niece, tears mixed with the rain.

"_Honey?_"

William's eyes shot open in a panic. A familiar face greeted him.

Big, blue eyes and neat, short black hair. Freckles donned the woman's cheeks, and bright red lipstick was already applied to her thin lips.

William quickly sat up despite his exhaustion and blinked.

Memories of the night before were foggy, but he knew what needed to be done had been done.

Charlie was buried in the backyard and any traces of her death had been scrubbed clean.

"When did you get home?" he asked in a gruff, groggy voice as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. The woman sitting beside him in bed smiled as she leaned a little closer to plant an affectionate kiss on his cheek.

"A few minutes ago." she hummed. William felt a pair of slender arms wrap around him, and even though he still felt like puking, he returned the show of affection.

"Henry called," The woman informed her groggy partner as she hugged him a little tighter.

William tensed at that name. "What did he say?" He questioned.

"He told us about Charlie and how we were invited over tonight. Why didn't you call us and say something about all of this?" Mrs. Afton ran her fingers through William's hair with a concerned expression that he couldn't see from where he was nuzzled into her shoulder.

"I didn't want to worry you." He lied. The woman bought it, just like she always did.

"Oh, honey," She cooed with a gentle rub along his back.

William's mind was elsewhere; he should be smothering his wife with affection and rushing out to greet his children, but he couldn't push away the distant, foggy memory of a nightmare he was certain he had. Even though he couldn't fully grasp it, one image was burnt into his mind.

The half rotten face of a little girl, covered in maggots and filled with earthworms.

Her lips had rotten away completely, showing off broken, bleeding teeth.

Her eyes were cloudy, and her nose was nowhere to be seen.

William hugged his wife a little tighter and swallowed down the urge to vomit.

"I love you." He whispered out in an unsteady voice. It was one of the few things he didn't lie about.

Breakfast and lunch were uneventful. Micheal tormented his younger brother as per usual and Elizabeth was a beaming little ball of sunshine, showing her father the drawings she had made while she was away and rambling on about some dog she had seen.

William tried his best to pay attention, but as he stared into his daughter's eyes, the weight of what he'd done crushed him even more. He had taken his daughter's best friend from her.

Whether she would notice anything odd about the Charlie look-alike was yet to be seen, but William would always know, and it would always haunt him.

He wanted to pull Elizabeth close and apologize profusely, but he settled instead for nodding and listening to her stories about petting the little black and white terrier she had encountered.

The drive to Henry's seemed eternal, and as William neared that little farmhouse, the urge to turn and drive away was strong, but the happy chatter from his children in the backseat was a constant reminder that he wasn't going for himself. He was going to celebrate Charlie's return with his 'best friend'. Their children would play and mingle, and everything would be well.

William was noticeably quieter than normal, but considering that he overworked himself constantly and suffered from exhaustion frequently, nothing seemed out of place.

He just seemed tired and groggy. William gripped onto the steering wheel tighter as he pulled into the rocky driveway and caught sight of Sammy and Charlie wrestling around in the grass. Even though William had designed not-Charlie to be able to endure the roughhousing that he knew she would be put through, seeing Sammy handle the artificial girl with so little care made him wince. Before he had time to say a word to his family, they were already opening their doors and heading up to the house. Micheal was trailing behind Norman and Elizabeth as they bolted towards Charlie and Sammy. A loud series of giggles and squeals followed, and Mrs. Afton smiled back at Will before getting out and heading up to the porch to meet Mrs. Emily.

William lingered in the car for a moment in a futile attempt to soothe his mind and calm his racing heart. Charlie wouldn't break, he tried to assure himself. There was nothing to fear.

The sight of a tall, bearded man walking towards the car made William tense a little.

He couldn't avoid Henry forever, and he knew that. With a shaky intake of breath, William reached for the door handle and pushed the door open The fresh air made him feel a little better, but the urge to spill his lunch still lingered as he stepped out of the car and was pulled into a tight hug. Henry was saying something to William, and for the first time in a while, Will clung to the bigger man with the intent of seeking out comfort. The contact was short lived, however, when Henry pulled away with a huge, toothy smile. William gave a weak grin in return but he didn't share Henry's joy. Even if he wanted to, he knew he couldn't. William, just as he always did, put on a fake smile and showed fake emotions. Under his grin was regret, but Henry would never know it. As William nodded and pretended to listen to what Henry was rambling on about, his eyes couldn't stay off of not-Charlie. He walked beside Henry up the driveway towards the house, but his focus was entirely on his newest little abomination. The brunette girl was conversing with his own children, but William couldn't make out what was being said.

Dinner came and went, and the children ran about the house like the little troublemakers they always were. William, just like he always did, helped Mrs. Emily clean up the aftermath from the children's messy eating habits. At some point, William ended up in the kitchen to place some dirty dishes in the sink alone. The other adults had probably gotten distracted and sucked into a conversation, but he didn't mind the seclusion too much. The silence was a welcome releif after being forced to converse with Henry and the girls so long.

As he put the last of the plates in the sink, a shifting noise from directly behind him left him spinning around in terror. His eyes were blown wide and his heart was racing.

There, standing in front of him, was Charlie.

The brunette girl looked up at her Uncle with wide, dull eyes.

Her cheeks were dirty from playing outside all day, and her hair was a frizzy mess.

She wasn't smiling, which was rather out of character for her. Her gaze was locked onto William's face, and as he stared down into her lifeless eyes, another wave of sorrow washed over him. William did his best to hide his discomfort and gave not-Charlie a smile.

"What are you doing in here, kiddo?" He questioned in a soft, steady voice.

Charlie tilted her head and blinked, but she didn't answer.

Fuck… Was she broken? William hesitantly reached out to her, but before he could touch her, Henry walked inside of the kitchen. "_Will_!" The bigger man beamed with a huge smile.

"We were getting ready to start some card games. Do you want in?"

William blinked and nodded without hesitation.

"Yeah! Sure, I just-" By the time he turned back to face Charlie, the girl was gone.

Her sudden disappearance sent chills down his spine, but he tried not to show his fear.

"What… What game?" William asked with a nervous smile as Henry wrapped a friendly arm around his back to steer him into the living room.

As soon as they made it through the kitchen and to the living room doorway, William's eyes locked onto Charlie, who was sitting on the floor next to Elizabeth by the coffee table.

Henry led William to sit on the couch in front of the kids, which put William directly in front of not-Charlie. He had no idea where their wives had gotten to, but he didn't feel like asking. Charlie stared at William with an odd gaze, but the look went unnoticed by everyone else sitting around the table. William stared ahead at the brunette with an anxious intake of breath.

He stared into her eyes, and something about them seemed just a little more lively.

That wasn't Charlie. Charlie was in his yard, under the soil he had disturbed.

Pretty pink and purple flowers would soon grow there; both as an excuse for the disturbed earth and a silent apology.

William shrunk in on himself a little as they played games throughout the night.

Something about the robot was different, but he couldn't pinpoint what. Whatever it was, she was certainly doing a good job of convincing everyone that she was the real her. If William didn't know any better, he would have thought that _it _was alive.


End file.
